Sick
by XxXRachaelLAXxX
Summary: About a very sick Ryder and how the rest of the dysfunctional family deal with it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey. I decided to write this story about Ryder having the flu when Mel and Joe are away and Lennox has to take care of him. This is set after series 1 but before series 2, so Ryder is about 14 or 15 and Lennox is 17. I think this will have around 5 chapters, maybe more. **

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><p>Mel and Joe had been away for a few days and the kids were home alone. Lennox had a few of her friends round. All she could hear was coughing and sneezing from upstairs.<p>

"I'm gonna go check if Ryder's okay." Lennox, although she didn't show it the majority of the time, cared deeply for Ryder. When her mum went to prison, she couldn't recognise how upset Ryder was. Even when his dad came back on Halloween and then handed himself in to the police, Lennox wasn't nearly as upset as he was. Ryder was a full on mummy's boy, so she wanted to try and fill in the hole their parent had left in his life. She knew this would be difficult, but she wanted to

"Ryder, are you okay?" She asked as she opened his door. He wasn't there. She heard some noises coming from the bathroom. Realising what was happening, she ran over to the bathroom. She saw Ryder being sick in the toilet. Lennox kneeled beside him, holding his head. When he stopped being sick, he looked at her. His eyes were all red and hos nose was pink from blowing it too much.

"Let's get you into bed." Lennox helped Ryder to his feet. She out her arms around him and walked him to his room. "I'll get you some paracetamol. Do you want anything to eat?" He shook his head, lying down. Lennox went downstairs.

"Is he okay?" One of her friends asked.

"He looks quite ill. He's just thrown up. Hopefully it's nothing serious."

"I think we should go home and let you stay with him."

"Thanks." The friends shared a group hug as they left. Lennox went into the kitchen and got some paracetamol, a thermometer and a bottle of water. She made Ryder a hot water bottle. Lennox went to his room. He was asleep by the looks of it.

"Ryder, take this." She put the tablets into his mouth and held his head to the water bottle. Gently, she out his head back on to the pillow. She then put the thermometer into his mouth.

"102.7" she read. Lennox decided to check it again in an hour or so. If it went higher, she was going to call a doctor. Luckily, Joe had gotten them all health insurance, so she didn't have to worry about money. An hour passed. Lennox stayed by his bedside. Ryder started moaning then.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It hurts." He moaned.

"What hurts" she stroked his hair gently to calm him down.

"Everything. My whole body aches." Just then, he put his hand to his mouth. Lennox grabbed his bin and he began coughing into the bin. Lennox noticed something. Blood. He was coughing up blood.

"Ryder let me check your temperature." She felt his forehead. It was very warm. She out the thermometer into Ryder's mouth.

"103.4. Ryder, I'm calling an ambulance."

"Lennox, I'm fine. Please don't." Ryder pleaded. He hated going to the hospital. The smell made him sick and his biggest fear were needles. He hated them. Whenever they had vaccinations at school he would cry. Luckily, the injections were done one at a time, so nobody knew about his fear.

"Ryder, I have to. Your fever is over 103, which is serious. Do you want to talk to aunt Mel?" Ryder nodded. He got his phone off his bedside cabinet and called Mel.

"Hi Aunt Mel." Ryder started coughing very loudly. He was finding it difficult to breathe.

"Ryder, are you ok? What's wrong?" Mel asked, sounding worried. She was in Jersey with Joe because it was Joe's sister's birthday and she had invited Mel.

"I don't feel well." He said. He began coughing more.

"Honey, stay calm. I'm on my way home. Can you give it to Lennox please."

"Yeah. Lennox, aunt Mel wants to talk to you." Lennox got the phone off Ryder and sat next to him, dabbing a cold towel on his forehead.

"Lennox, what's his temperature?" She asked.

"It's 103.4." She looked at her baby brother. His cheeks were bright red, sweat was pouring down his face, yet he was shivering. He was breathing quickly and coughing a lot. "What should I do?" She asked, feeling helpless.

"Take him to hospital. Ask a friend to drive him. Keep him calm, I think the ambulance will frighten him a little. I'll try and get a flight home. Take care of him." Mel then hung up.

"I'm gonna see if Maddie can drive us to hospital." Lennox rung Maddie and asked her if she could drive them. "She will be here in five minutes. Let's get you downstairs." Lennox helped him sit up.

"I'm dizzy. I can't get up." He moaned.

"I'll help you." Lennox put her arm around him. She supported his body weight with her body. "Come on, I'll help you." He kept coughing and felt breathless. Just as they got downstairs, the door bell rang. "Maddie must be here. Sit here." Lennox opened the door.

"Hey. How ill is he?" Maddie asked.

"Pretty bad. Hopefully it's not too serious." Replied Lennox. "Come on, let's go."

"I'll help." Maddie put an arm around Ryder and helped him into the back seat of her car. Lennox sat next to him. She put her arm around his shoulder. He rested his head on her shoulder. Lennox held his cheek and stroked it, calming him down. She looked at him. His eyes were full of pain. She lifted his body off her shoulder and held his body in her arms. He began to moan in pain. She kissed his forehead, holding his head against her shoulder.

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><p>"We're here. Do you want me to come in with you?" Asked Maddie.<p>

"Yes, if you can. I'll need help taking him around." Said Lennox. "Ryder, can you get up for me" he sat up. Maddie helped him out. He was feeling faint. His legs felt weak. His legs buckled below him. He fell on to Maddie, who helped him to his feet.

"Here. Lean on me." Lennox put her arms around him and the two girls walked him into the reception. The emergency room was almost empty.

"Ryder Scanlon. He's been having flu like symptoms and he's been throwing up and coughing up blood. His temperature was 103.4 about an hour ago." Lennox explained.

"Take him straight through the corridor and follow the green line on the floor to the next waiting room. I've put a note next to his name so he is seen first." The receptionist said.

"Thanks." Maddie said.

"I can't walk." He looked at Lennox, pain in his eyes.

"I'll carry you. Come here." Luckily, Maddie was very tall, so she could pick him up with no difficulty. She put an arm under his knees and the other around his back and lifted him up. He buried his head into her shoulder to try and block out the light. She felt the heat on her shoulder coming from him.

"Lennox, he's really warm." Maddie said to Lennox as they walked down the corridor. Lennox felt his forehead.

"He's warmer than before." She said as they sat down. He dug his head into Lennox's shoulder. She put her arms around him, kissing his head. Just then, she received a text from Mel.

"Aunt Mel's flight is at 10, so she will be at the hospital at one." Lennox explained.

"Ryder Scanlon" the doctor called. They got up and followed the doctor to a bed. The girls helped him on to the bed. He curled up in to a ball. Lennox stood by him, holding his hand.

"I'm Milly and I'm gonna be taking care of him. I'll check his temperature then do a blood test. At the moment his symptoms look like it might just be a severe case of the flu. We're gonna have to admit him if his temperature has increased." She checked his temperature. "It's 104.1. We're going to have to admit him urgently. I'll tell the ward nurse to do a blood test. The children's ward is on the top floor. Report to the reception, I'll tell them you're on your way." The doctor left.

"Ryder, come here. I'll carry you." Maddie picked him up.

"Lennox" Ryder said, making Maddie aw.

"I'm here. Keep your head down." Lennox kissed him through his hair. They walked up in silence, mainly because Lennox was really worried. His temperature was over 104, which was very serious. He'd never been this sick before and Lennox hadn't seen anyone this ill in her life. She kept thinking what could be wrong with him.

"Hi. We were sent here from the emergency room." Lennox explained.

"Ryder Scanlon?" The nurse asked. Lennox nodded. "Come this way" the nurse led them to a private room with a bed. "I'm going to get the things for a blood test." The nurse then left. Maddie put him down on to the bed. She eased him in to a lying down position. She covered him with a blanket. Lennox sat on the chair next to him and Maddie grabbed a plastic chair from the waiting area and sat next to Lennox.

"I'm here. Try and sleep, it's getting late." Lennox stroked his hair. "His foreheads burning up."

"He's gonna be fine." Maddie tried to calm them down. Maddie's phone went off. "My mum says I have to come home. I'll tell her I can't."

"It's fine. I'll take care of him. It's 12.30 so Aunt Me should be here in a while. Thanks for staying." Lennox said. Maddie left just as the nurse came in with the blood test equipment.

"Lennox. I'm...scared" Ryder said, looking at his sister in fear.

"Of needles?" Ryder nodded. "Look at me" she cupped his face with her hands as the nurse put the needle in to the back of his hand. ''You ok?'' He nodded.

"The results will be back in an hour. The doctors have told us to put him on an IV drip. I've put a cannula in so I'll just hook it up." The nurse hooked him up to an IV drip. She them left, leaving Lennox and Ryder on their own.

"Try and sleep, ok." Lennox put her arms around him. She was really tired, but couldn't sleep until Mel got here. She didn't want to sleep just incase Ryder needed anything. He began moaning.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"My chest hurts" he answered, his voice sounding scratchy.

"Sit up a little, that'll help" she helped him sit up, putting a cushion behind him. Just then, Mel came in with the nurse.

"Lennox the nurse wants to see you" Mel said, sitting next to Ryder. She held his hand.

"Aunt Mel" Ryder looked over to his right. He looked Mel in the eyes. His eyes were bloodshot red.

"I'm here honey. You'll be fine." She calmed him down. He gently shut his eyes. Mel eased him into sleep. She kissed his cheek gently, making sure not to wake him.

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><p>"Lennox have you had the pneumonia injection?" The nurse asked.<p>

"Yeah I have. Why?"

"Your brother has pneumonia."

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><p><strong>I will try and update tomorrow or the day after. Poor Ryder! You will see a trend that I love torturing him in my stories. Please review and check out my other Melissa and Joey stories. Xxx<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey. Here's chapter 2. Hope you like it. Even if you don't have an account I can see that you have read this and I'm so grateful for your support. Thank you ㈵6 **

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><p>"Pneumonia! How bad?" A worried Lennox asked.<p>

"It's looking like it's on the serious side at the moment, but we will do a chest x ray and more blood tests to determine that. He's being taken care of well and he's doesn't have a medical record of anything serious so don't worry about it."

"Thanks" Lennox said as she made her way back to Ryder's bedside.

"Does he know?" She asked Mel.

"Yeah. I don't think he knows what it is so he just nodded and went back to sleep. I'm gonna go tell Joe the news and tell work that I'm not going in for a few days." Mel left the room. Lennox texted her friends telling them that she might not be at school for a few days. Ryder moaned then, Lennox grabbing his hand.

"Go back to sleep, okay." She stroked his hair out of his face. The nurse came in with a thermometer.

"I'm Shannon and I'll be his nurse tonight. I'm gonna check his temperature and then hook a heart rate machine and put a nasal cannula on just to be on the safe side." The nurse checked his temperature. "It's 105.6. I'm going to get the doctor's here urgently." The nurse left and came back with the doctor.

"Is he allergic to any medications?" The doctor asked.

"I don't think so." Replied Lennox.

"Give him some ibuprofen and a damp cloth to dab on his head. Take the blankets off him to bring his temperature down and sure he eats something before he takes the ibuprofen. A doctor will come in the morning to check up on him." The nurse and doctor left. Mel came in to the room.

"Bad news. Joe's grandma is sick so he can't come home for a few days." Mel explained, sitting down. "You should sleep for a bit. There's a folding bed over there. I'll take care of him."

"Take the blankets off him and take his jacket off. He's burning up." Lennox gently took the blankets away from him. He began shivering.

"Ryder you're burning up. I'm taking your jacket and socks off." Mel lifted his limp body up. She sat him up. She took his jacket off and put it behind her chair. The nurse came in, holding a plate with some toast on it. Another one followed carrying some medical equipment.

"We're gonna attach the nasal cannula on him first." The nurse put the cannula on him. "This'll help you to breathe. Your throat is quite sore so this will help. I'm just going to put a heart rate monitor on him and that should be it. Eat the toast and then we can give you some ibuprofen. That'll bring your temperature down. We are gonna put the air con on in this room to get his temperature down so it'll get quite chilly." The nurse left and the other one put the table in front of him and put two tablets on the plate.

"Take these when you've eaten at least one slice of toast." The other nurse then left.

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><p><span><strong>That Night<strong>

It was about 5 am. It was Mel's turn to sleep. Lennox had Ryder on her lap. He couldn't sleep.

"Lennox" he moaned

"Yeah I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I feel sick" he covered his mouth. Lennox grabbed the sick bucket from the bedside table and put it front of him. He began coughing up blood, followed by some vomit. The sound of him throwing up woke Mel.

"Honey what's wrong?" Mel asked, sounding worried.

"He's just throwing up and coughing up blood." Explained Lennox, holding his head.

"I'll sit with him. Go to sleep Lennox." Lennox put Ryder down on the bed and got on to the folding bed. Mel held Ryder in her arms. She put his head on her shoulder, stroking his hair. The nurse then came in to check his temperature.

"It's 105.3 so it's going down slowly. Keep the blankets off and dab this on his head." The nurse gave Mel an ice pack. She dabbed in all over his head. Sweat was still pouring from his head.

"I'm cold" he said, curling up.

"That's a good sign. Your temperature needs to be bought down so I have to put this on your head." Mel said to Ryder, who still looked very sick. He began to moan in pain. Mel wrapped her arms around him tighter.

"Ssshhh honey. I'm here. Just try to go to sleep." Ryder buried his head into his aunt's shoulder. He hadn't felt this bad ever. Mel was also worried about how Ryder had gotten pneumonia. Lennox was vaccinated to prevent it. Why wasn't he?

"Lennox" she whispered. Lennox moaned, waking up.

"What's up" she sat up.

"Why wasn't he vaccinated against pneumonia?"

"Dad was supposed to take him. I'm sure they went. Ask Ryder." Lennox got up out of bed and went into the toilet to brush her teeth. It was 7.30 so she thought she'd might as well wake up.

"Ryder" Mel shook him, making him jump. "Were you vaccinated against pneumonia?"

"Dad was supposed to take me but he went to see his friends instead. Worked for me I hate needle." he replied, closing his eyes tightly to try and sleep.

"That jerk." Mel got very angry at the fact that if his brother in law took his son to get this vaccination then he wouldn't be in this much pain. "Go back to sleep" she stroked his hair. His head was still very warm. "Lennox could you pass me that ice pack" Mel asked as Lennox gave it to her. Mel dabbed the ice pack on his sweaty forehead.

"How did you sleep Lennox?" Mel questioned, yawning.

"Not very well. I was too worried about Ryder." She answered, sitting on the bed. Mel lay Ryder down on the bed. He woke up and curled up into a ball and scooted next to Lennox, putting his head on her thigh. Mel passed her the ice pack and Lennox dabbed it all over his head. The nurse came in to check his temperature. This time it was the day nurse.

"His temperature is 105.4. It's going up again I'm afraid. I'll get him some ice cream to cool him down. Take some of his clothes off and put a thin sheet over him if he gets cold. I'm gonna turn up the air con more so you might get a bit chilly. I'll get him a drink and some ice cream and then check his heart rate." The nurse left.

"Aunt Mel I bought a bag of his things in. Could you get him some shorts?" Lennox asked. Mel got up and got the shorts. She took his trousers off and put them on him. She also took his socks off and opened the window. Just then, Mel's phone rang.

"That was work. I have to go in there's been an emergency. Could you please take care of him whilst I'm there Lennox? I'll be back in two hours tops." Mel explained. Lennox nodded and then Mel left.

"Lennox" said Ryder.

"Hey what's the matter?" Lennox looked at him in the eyes. He always had this sort of vulnerability that was clearly shown each time she looked in his eye.

"I...I can't breathe"

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><p><strong>CLIFFHANGER! I hate it when I'm left on a cliffhanger bur I love doing them ㈳8<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey. Here's chapter 3 of "Sick"**

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><p>"Ryder...I'm going to help you sit up okay" Lennox helped him into a sitting position and then pressed the nurse call button. "Is that better? Can you breathe?" He began coughing, crying of pain. The nurse then came in.<p>

"He's having trouble breathing." Lennox explained, trying to keep calm.

"I'm going to get him an oxygen mask. I'll be right back." The nurse went out and got an oxygen mask. She took the nasal cannula off and put the mask on instead. "I'll tell the doctors to come and see him. This mask will help." The nurse rushed out to go and get a doctor.

"Is that helping?" Lennox asked him, stroking his hair.

"A bit yeah." He said back, looking like he hadn't slept in a long time. He tried to hide the amount of pain he was in but Lennox saw right past his plan.

"You're in a lot of pain aren't you"

"N..no" he lied.

"Ryder I've known you your whole life and I know when you're lying. Like whenever Holly is controlling so basically whenever you're with her you feel like tearing her insides out."

"How do you know?"

"I'm your sister. I know more about you than anyone." She ruffled his hair. The doctor then came in.

"The nurse has told me that you've had trouble breathing. That's normal for somebody who has pneumonia. The oxygen mask will help and the anti biotics will help him. We can up the pain killers to help control the pain but that's all we can do at the moment. Let me check vis temperature." The doctor checked his temperature. "It's 102.3 so it's going down more. He should make a full recovery in a few days." The doctor then left. Mel came in behind him.

"How is he doing?" She asked, sitting on the end of his bed, holding his hand loosely.

"He's a lot better than before but still quite sick. He should be better in a few days. We will hopefully be able to discharge him tomorrow if all goes well." The nurse explained.

"Aw that's good isn't it." She put a hand on Ryder's cheek lovingly.

"We will have to continue the antibiotic treatment at home for another five days at least. He will then have to come in for appointments to check up on him. Can I do a quick blood test?" The nurse got the equipment ready for a blood test. "I can't find a vein in his arms so I'm going to check his hands." The nurse found a vein in his left hand and took some blood. "We are going to see if the antibiotics are working. The results will be back within an hour."

"So Ryder how have you been today?" Mel asked

"Better than before but I'm tired." He turned around and tried to sleep. He looked absolutely exhausted.

"Sleep for a bit okay." Mel covered him with a blanket and put an extra pillow under his head and one under his knees. He fell asleep pretty quickly.

"Lennox go home and have some rest. I'll keep you updated." Mel told Lennox. Lennox got up and left. Mel began to think deeply about Ryder. So many what ifs came to her head. He was one of those kids you didn't have to worry about so she didn't want him feeling like she cared for Lennox more than him. He then moaned in pain.

"Ssshhh go back to sleep." Mel eased him into sleep, brushing his hair to comfort him.

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><p><strong>Sorry for it being very short. There's going to be one more chapters and then this is finished. Xoxo<strong>


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